A.M. No. P-99-1343. November 24, 2003. Orlando T. Mendoza, complainant, vs. Sheriffs Rosbert M. Tuquero and Antonio M. Leaño, Jr., respondents.
FACTS

This administrative case originated from a complaint for manifest negligence and misfeasance concerning the delayed implementation of a writ of demolition. Sheriffs Rosbert Tuquero and Antonio Leaño, Jr. of the Tarlac Provincial Sheriff’s Office were initially dismissed from service by the Court in a July 18, 2001 Resolution for unreasonable delay in executing the writ in Civil Case No. 5747. In a subsequent July 10, 2002 Resolution, the Court reconsidered the penalty for Leaño, Jr., reducing it to a fifteen-month suspension, but maintained the dismissal of Tuquero. The Court also noted that the original complaint named Atty. Roberto Tuquero, the former Clerk of Court, and thus referred the charges against him to the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) for investigation.

ISSUE

The primary issues for resolution are: (1) the propriety of Sheriff Rosbert Tuquero’s Motion for Consideration of his dismissal; and (2) the administrative liability, if any, of Atty. Roberto Tuquero.

RULING

The Court denied Sheriff Tuquero’s motion and found Atty. Tuquero guilty of simple negligence. Sheriff Tuquero’s motion, essentially a third motion for reconsideration, was a prohibited pleading. The Court had already exhaustively passed upon his arguments, including his claim that he was not formally named in the complaint. The records showed he was fully apprised of the charges, required to comment, and his signature appeared on numerous sheriff’s returns and notifications related to the delayed writ, making him properly subject to the Court’s disciplinary authority. His dismissal was thus final.
Regarding Atty. Roberto Tuquero, the Court found the evidence insufficient to hold him equally liable for the execution delay. Complainant’s allegation that Atty. Tuquero received money for a demolition crew was unsubstantiated and pertained to a different, unrelated case. However, Atty. Tuquero was administratively liable for simple negligence in his supervisory capacity. He permitted the late Sheriff Antonio Leaño, Sr. to handle the writ’s implementation despite being informed that Leaño, Sr. wanted to assist the plaintiff, who was a relative. This created an obvious conflict of interest and potential for impropriety. Atty. Tuquero failed to exercise prudence by allowing this arrangement and subsequently permitting Leaño, Sr.’s son, Sheriff Leaño, Jr., to continue the execution. His compulsory retirement did not preclude administrative liability. The Court reprimanded Atty. Tuquero for this negligence.